Yes, ladies and more likely, gentlemen, "Bioshock 2" is on the not-too-distant horizon. What is this Bioshock you ask? Bioshock is a videogame, and a very good one at that, with its sequel to hit stores on Tuesday, February 9th.

The first game took us to the underwater city in disrepair of “Rapture” in 1960, where you (named “Jack”) arrive after your plane has crashed in the Mid-Atlantic. As soon as you arrive, a man by the name of “Atlas” helps you to survive by avoiding bad guys that have gone through some twisted genetic changes. These genetic changes stem from Plasmids…essentially powers you get through the game, fueled by ADAM, which all of us have inside us, collected from corpses by little girls. Yes, little girls, with a gigantic syringe that looks creepy and amazing…that have gone under some experimentation and are protected by their own personal bodyguards…the Big Daddys, the character you see on the cover of the game.

There are many quests, twists, and creepy moments throughout the story that fully involve the gamer and make it a great experience. I could write many a page about the plot of the game, as it is one of the best ever, but I will digress as the title says- this is about the sequel.

Gameplay Of Bioshock 1

What separated Bioshock 1 apart from the other types of games, apart from its story, were the visuals, the gameplay, how dynamically fast paced things occurred, collectibles throughout the game that informed you more of your opponents, and the overall storyline and why the city has turned in a leaky underwater pile filled with weirdos in party masks trying to kill you for your blood. Bioshock, when it came out, was and still is one of the most original first-person shooter games of all-time.

What has helped the buzz for this game is viral marketing, which I am all in on. Roughly a year ago the site Somethinginthesea.com was created by 2K’s marketing department (yes, this game is made by the same people that do NBA and NHL games). First, the site started out as a tack board with postings about little girls being captured. The second phase was the office of Mark Meltzer, who we find out had his daughter captured. And now, he is out to sea, after the year of clues, phone messages and puzzles provided on the site over the past year(ish), he has an idea of where his daughter may be and will do anything to find her.

Now, though we hear of Mark’s, and Jack’s exploits, Bioshock 2 is set 10 years after the first game, and according to 2K, is a completely standalone storyline with, other than a few people, its own story, string of events and different main characters. The main difference in this game is…the main character, from what it appears in trailers, is that you are a Big Daddy, a prototype Big Daddy, able to have powers (as they did not have in the first game), with the antagonist being…the Big Sister, who is not bulky and strong as you are, but telepathic, psychotic and agile.

2K has done a great job of keeping the plot under wraps and through the trailers of the game, the visuals, gameplay clips, and storyline snip-its, it seems to be better than the first, which is quite an accomplishment. Also, 2K has introduced a multiplayer facet, which the first game did not have. Even without multiplayer, it was still one of the highest selling games in the past year and a half (which is quite an accomplishment in our Halo, WoW, Madden, FIFA, Modern Warfare heavy multiplayer-laden gaming era).

Example Gameplay Of Bioshock 2

Personally, hopefully by the end of this month, I will own this game. It is poised to be one of the biggest sellers in the past six months (though Modern Warfare 2 is the highest selling entertainment release of all time). I will most likely sit in front of my 1995 Magnavox and not move, other than to use the facilities and order the new and improved pizza from a place that rhymes with Sssshhhhhmominoes and until I beat it, will look like the genetic splicing bad guys that infest the underwater world of Rapture. Bioshock 2 is a sci-fi, horror type of game, but if “would you kindly” take a gander online at the storyline and at the pictures and trailers I’ve posted, hopefully you’ll feel the same way.